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March 17% 1966 THE NEWS THIS WEEK AND NEXT -by Ray Argyle The Senate -- that "assembly of old men" as the Romans called it contained some younger faces at Ottawa this week. But the reputation of Canada's upper chamber was, if anything, the worse because of it. Prime Minister Pearson's ap- pointment of 10 new members stressed anew the dismal trap which waits for those who yearn to reform the Senate. The PM's action in naming nine well-known Liberal work- ers among his 10 appointees shocked the country because Mr. Pearson had in the past made so many promises about Senate re- form. The Liberal Party's 1963 plat- form contained a firm pledge to reorganize the upper house. That was the election which first put Mr. Pearson into the office. When he went back to | the country last November, that plank was strangely missing from the Liberal campaign plat- form. The Liberal Government did | succeed in one minor bit of Sen- ate reform -- the compulsory retirement at the age of 75 of those appointed since last May. | Senators who were appointed before last May -- when the re- tirement bill was passed -- are also eligible to step down at 75, on a pension of $8,000 per year. The first to do so was Alberta's J. W. Stambaugh. Canada's 102 Senators are now appointed to the age of 75 at $15,000 per year, of which $3,000 is tax free. As everyone knows, the Sen- ate was designed after the pat- tern of Britain's House of Lords, the theory being that in Canada as well as Britain there was a need for a non-elective body which could take a sober second look at House of Com- mons legislations. Bills do not become law until they clear the Senate, but in re- cent years in both Canada and Britain the voice of the House has been so strong that the up- per chamber has not dared pre- vent passage. Because Senators need not ob- ligate themselves to the voters, they would save the country from radical legislation. This YOUR RED CROSS brian vou ia (la ay Shh... Senate Asleep ! was the historic reasoning be- hind 'the acceptance by the Fa- thers of Confederation of the idea of a two-chamber parlia- ment. While the Senate- was estab- lished in the tradition of the House of Lords, it has in fact worked out very differently than its British counterpart. In Canada, the Senate became quickly and totally a tool of po- litical patronage, an old man's home for unsuccessful politi- cians, with little to contribute to the country. With appointments under full control of the gov- ernment, no independent or "third party' spokesmen have ever gained entrance. But in "Britain, drastic changes in the membership of the House of Lords have come about in recent years. Because the Labor party had its turn at government and in_ recom- mending the creation of peer- ages, radical new _ blood streamed into the House of Lords. More recently, the creation of lifetime peerages (in which only the recipients and not their de- scendants would be eligible to sit in the House of Lords) opened up the old institution to many more ex-commoners. Leg- islation permitting members of the House of Lords to resign if they wished to seek election to the House of Commons finally democratized the system. The result has been that in Britain the House of Lords, be- cause of the quality of its mem- bership, has become a leader of public opinion. It has spear- headed new legislation, such as the abolition of capital punish- ment and the legalization of ho- mosexual acts between consent- ing adults. The inference must be that it is not the system so much that is at fault as the kind of people who run the system. As long as the Canadian Senate remains a haven for unsuccessful politi- cians -- and the ability to lose elections was the chief claim to distinction of nine of the 10 lat- est appointments -- the Senate will continue to be a pimple on the body politic. Toronto Telegram News Service "I've failed, haven't 1?" Page 7 BANTAMS = Continued from page 4 North Shore Championship. From latest reports, Wawa has won the North Shore championship by defeating Geraldton in both games. FOUR NEW BOOKS AT YOUR LIBRARY In Cold Blood - by Truman Capote The Courage of the Early Morning - Billy Bishop The Green Berets by Robin Moore West Viking - by Farley Mowatt. The latter book is a highly original and convinc- ing reconstruction of lOth century Norse voyages of exploration and piracy which resulted in the settle- ment of Greenland and the discovery of North America. Inevitably Mowatt's material is contro- versial since in them certain theories have been ad- vanced regarding the location of Leif Ericson's Vinland The Good, to name only one example. Would the subscribers with overdue books kindly return them to the library. THE LARGEST HEARING AID COMPANY IN THE WEST OPENS OFFICE IN FORT WILLIAM TO SERVE Robt, E. McCLOCKLIN "THE LAKEHEAD AREA" Precision hearing aids from all over the world A Hearing Aid Clinic will be held in Terrace Bay at the Terrace Bay Motor Hotel on March 25th -- from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 P.M. CHOICE = You benefit when you have a choice and are not restricted to any one make. Thirty-five models to choose from. EXPERIENCE Serving the hard of hearing for over fourteen years. 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